NPR News: 01-15-2026 4AM EST
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What happened with the astronaut's medical evacuation from the International Space Station?
Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. The astronaut who had to be medically evacuated from the International Space Station is back on Earth. The SpaceX capsule carrying the astronaut along with three crewmates successfully splashed down in the Pacific a short time ago. NASA has not identified the astronaut or details about the health issue that forced submission to be cut short. This is the first time NASA has conducted a medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. The U.S. and Denmark continue to have what a Danish official calls a fundamental disagreement over Greenland. But NPR's Franco Ordonez reports the two sides are creating a working group to try to reconcile their differences.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with officials from Denmark and Greenland amid President Trump's ongoing calls to control the Arctic Territory. Trump sees Greenland as a national security issue, warning of Russian and Chinese activity in the region. But the Danish foreign minister, Lars-Lok Rukmussen, disagrees.
It is not a true narrative that we have, you know, Chinese warships all around the place. According to our intelligence, we haven't had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so.
The minister wants the group to focus on addressing U.S. security concerns while respecting the red lines of Denmark. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
Venezuela's acting president, Delce Rodriguez, says the government will continue releasing political prisoners following the seizure by U.S. forces of President Nicolas Maduro. NPR's Kerry Kahn reports.
Flanked by her brother, the head of the National Assembly, and the interior minister, the interim president said the government has freed more than 400 prisoners in a process Rodriguez says began before the U.S. seized Maduro.
The message is very clear.
This message is very clear, that this is a Venezuela opening up to a new political moment, allowing for diverse political and ideological perspectives. But without elaborating, Rodriguez warned it must be done with respect or the law will be enforced. Human rights advocates say the number of released political prisoners is much lower and the process too slow. Carrie Khan, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Karina Machado is expected at the White House today. The meeting will be her first face-to-face with President Trump following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro. And it comes after Senate Republicans voted down a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump's ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela. Following pressure from the Trump administration, two GOP senators who initially voted last week to advance the resolution reversed course to block the measure. This is NPR News. Hundreds of workers who make kitchen countertops out of quartz have gotten seriously ill in recent years. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports that numerous lawsuits have some companies asking Congress for help.
When raw slabs of quartz material get cut to fit kitchens, many businesses don't adequately control the hazardous silica dust that can be released. Rebecca Schult is a lawyer for Minnesota-based Cambria. the major U.S. manufacturer of the Ross Labs.
What is the current status of U.S.-Denmark relations regarding Greenland?
Cambria has no control over these third-party businesses and their dangerous conditions.
In a hearing on Capitol Hill, she asked for a ban on lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of Ross Labs. But David Michaels, a former director of the safety agency OSHA, said these companies should take responsibility for the products they sell. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News.
Soccer's governing body says it has received more than 500 million ticket requests for this year's World Cup. FIFA saying in a statement today that the most requests came from Germany, England and Brazil. A 33-day application window closed this week. The tournament is being co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. FIFA says it will notify applicants about their tickets no earlier than February 5th. Asian financial markets mostly lower following a second consecutive down day on Wall Street.
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